Doug, I have a mini grease gun tha is put out by Proboat. It has a pointed nozzle that will fit into the greasing tube of my stuffing tube. If I hold down tight while operating the plunger, it will pressurize the grease enough that I get grease coming out of the fore and aft bushings while the shaft is still installed. As y’all would say, it’s a nice bit of kit.
I was thinking about doing something similar to what you told me, but using a washer and oring at the prop end with the prop nut just, I mean just ever so slightly compressing the oring, washer backing that up to tube end, lubing the hades out of it. Am I overthinking this?
I’m doing another tub test this weekend. Will stay with the boat for the duration instead of leaving it be for an hour, maybe I can catch the leak in the act…will report.
Cash

Ronald, she was wet, but only about 1/4 to 1/3 cup after almost 2 hours in the pond. Even after everything I try, if that’s as good as I can get, I can live with it. However, like we say in Texas, “I ain’t done yet!!”😁

Hi y’all. I took the Puffer back to the tub this morning, bound and determined to find the source of the leak. Within minutes I had a good teaspoon of water in the hull…but it didn’t come from the tube. I checked aft, dry as a bone, so I thought the bow had a leak and it was seeping past the bulkhead. After drying her off I took her to the bench, and added water thru a drilled hole in the bulkhead and sat her bow down. Nothing. As I was fiddling with her some of the water seeped back to mid hull, and I noticed one finger felt damp. There was a chip in the gel coat that was allowing water to seep into the hull!! I carefully set her up with the water in that spot, within a few seconds I had a drip, and if I pressed on the spot from inside the hull it got worse. I noticed a black spot inside too, I thought I had dropped a drop of paint in the hull, but I had painted the whole hull matte black before I painted her red below the water line, the paint had seeped thru.
I took some light fiberglass and epoxy/microballoons and patched over the spot from within, filled the outside with ca and painted over it to seal. I’m still going to set up my shaft ends as discussed, but I feel better now.
Also, I bent the railings again as I handled her, and some more of the white metal stanchions gave way. I pulled the assembly off best I could, and I will redrill and install brass stanchions that I have coming from Harbor Models. Then a few details and she’s done.
Cash

Hi y’all. Made one more leak check this morning, with ballast. Set in the tub 20 minutes or so, nothing. Not a drop!! The tube was greased and nothing there either. I still have to do a minor refit on the shaft ends to slow any water coming in when reversing, but I feel she’s good. The rails aft, however, are another matter. Between multiple trips upstairs and all the handling trying to find the leak, I’ve bent the railings multiple times, and it didn’t take long for a couple of the stanchions to give way, so I pulled the railings off, redrilled the holes to clear the old railing bits that were left, and I’m making a new unit with brass stanchions. Don’t know if I’m going to paint them white again, or go for another color, but by all rights and measures this boat should be finished, including ships boat and a few other details, by the end of the week.
Cash

Hi yall. I finally got a chance to re-maiden the Puffer after the whole leak drama. She was in the water for several hours, ran a 5000 mah LiPo down to 40 percent. I'd say she was on the lake for 3 hours plus, full throttle, cruising speed, reverse, all over the place. The result? about a teaspoon of water from the stuffing box. All the reversing i was doing pushed a little water up the tube, you could see the big wad of grease that had been pushed out, and the grease was discolored by the water. Im happy, shes reliable, and shes now in the fleet under the "keeper" heading.
Cash